The present invention relates generally to child restraint seats and, more particularly, to a fold-out child seat of the type integrated into the backrest of a vehicular seating arrangement and having means for causing coordinated movement of a headrest, a seatback and a seat between their respective stowed positions and a pair of different deployed positions.
Virtually all motor vehicles are equipped with safety belt restraint systems for physically restraining the seat occupant when the vehicle is subjected to a high rate of deceleration which may occur, for example, during a motor vehicle collision. While conventional safety belt restraint systems are well-suited for restraining adult passengers, it is a common practice to use a portable (i.e., "add-on") child seat having a belt-type harness for children under a given age and weight. For instance, most portable child seats are rated for children weighing up to forty pounds and are generally recommended for use with children under the age of four years. As is known, such portable child seats are placed on top of the vehicle seat and secured thereto using the existing vehicular safety belt restraint system.
In an effort to minimize the inconvenience associated with installing and/or stowing portable child seats, some motor vehicles are now available with seating arrangements that have one or more "fold-out" child seats built-in or integrated into the backrest of an otherwise conventional seat. When needed, such an integral child seat can be deployed by rotating a seat member to a lowered position for exposing a retractable belt-type harness for restraining a child seated within the child seat. Following use, the integral child seat can be stowed by rotating the seat member to a raised position concealed within the backrest. Once stowed, the seating arrangement accommodates an adult in a normal seated position while preserving the overall cosmetic appearance and comfort of the vehicle seat. Typically, some type of latching mechanism is also provided for releasably locking the integral child seat in the stowed position. Alternatively, some integral child seats, especially those associated with bench-type seats, also include a headrest member that can be moved between a lowered stowed position and an elevated deployed position. In such applications, the latching mechanism is usually operable for releasably locking both of the headrest member and the seat member in their respective stowed and deployed positions.
As will be appreciated, motor vehicles equipped with seats having one or more fold-out type integral child seats are extremely popular in view of the enhanced convenience they provide. However, since integral child seats are typically integrated into otherwise conventional seats, various regulatory standards have been promulgated which set forth specific design criteria as well as performance and testing requirements. To comply with these standards, it is again common for the vehicle manufacturers to establish limitations on the size and weight of children using the integral child seat. Regardless of such limitations, the regulatory standards establish specific design and structural requirements that must be met. For instance, all integral child seats must meet pre-established minimum cross-sectional surface area requirements for the seatback and its lateral side support. In this light, it is recognized that belt-type harness restraints assist in providing lateral (i.e., side-to-side) support of a child strapped into the integral child seat. Most commonly, conventional belt-type harnesses are classified as either a 3-point restraint or a 5-point restraint based on the number of anchor/loading points associated therewith. While 3-point harness restraints are considered more convenient to use and are satisfactory for their intended purpose, it has been shown that 5-point harness restraints provide greater lateral support for minimizing side-to-side rolling movement of the occupant within the child seat. Unfortunately, 5-point harness restraints are not always used and/or adjusted properly which can detrimentally impact their overall restraining capabilities.
In an effort to provide enhanced lateral restraint, it has been proposed to incorporate enlarged side bolsters into at least one of the seatback and seat member of the integral child seat. The most relevant prior art known to the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,070 to Casale et al. which illustrates a fold-out integral child seat comprised of an upper backrest portion having a pair of integral headrest segments and a lower backrest portion having a pair of integral armrest segments. As designed, the upper backrest portion folds down over, and is latched to, the lower backrest portion such that the entire unit can then be rotated about a single pivot to a concealed position within the backrest of the vehicle seat for storage in a reduced trunk area. Unfortunately, this arrangement is extremely complex in construction, expensive to manufacture and is rather limited in function and application. Additionally, no lateral support for the shoulders and upper torso of the child appears to be provided between the headrest and armrest segments. Finally, since it is not uncommon for a person to be burdened with the job of releasing and deploying the child seat from its stowed position while holding the child in one arm, the multi-step process for deploying this integral child seat is generally considered to be awkward and cumbersome.
In view of the above, a need clearly exists to develop a fold-out type integral child seat which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art and yet which can be readily adapted for use in various vehicular seating applications.